By Adam Cohen . . .
Rent at the Paper Mill Playhouse remains a wonder to behold, a sumptuous song-fest to enjoy, a spiritual boost for all. Director Zi Alikhan delivers a crazily brilliant American tour de force, the raw punchiness of which is totally unexpected in the heart of New Jersey. The songs are wonderful, sung with unrelenting verve by this powerful troupe of energized performers, freed up to play it to the limit under Alikhan’s fluid direction.
Based on Giacomo Puccini‘s La Bohème, Rent recounts a year in the life of an eclectic group of struggling young artists and musicians living on New York City’s Lower East Side. The individuals are trying to survive in the shadow of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its devastating effects on friends and partners. As a filmmaker, Mark (Zachary Noah Piser) documents the year with events with his chosen family of guitarist Roger (Matt Rodin), Mimi (Alisa Melendez), Maureen (Mackenzie Meadows) and Angel (Olivia Lux).
Piser’s Mark has a jauntiness that sees him flit from room to room, always probing the filmic possibilities as well as being a sounding-board and shoulder to cry on for the other characters. Meadow’s rendition of “Over The Moon” gives the phrase “over the top” a cakewalk-like inadequacy. And Rodin creates an insistent, percolating, quiet intensity to the proceedings—a necessary counterpoint to the frenetic goings-on around him. Melendez’s affecting and effectual performance as Mimi releases raw emotion at the moving denouement of the piece.
Especially in Act Two, every character decision and interaction is propelled, as it should be—as it must be—by the overwhelming grief at losing Angel. It’s heartbreaking. It’s electrifying. It’s the best that Rent can be.
Rent is a sensational show with a dazzling, totally committed and talented cast. Despite the tragic overtones, one comes away with an uplifted heart, tingling senses and zinging spirits. Rent endures in the grand tradition of rock musicals: with a heart bigger than its problems and music that moves under your skin, lingering movingly. The book, music, and lyrics are brilliantly written by Jonathan Larson. This production features original energetic choreography by Steph Paul and strong musical direction by Amanda Morton.
The cast of Rent is superb, and many of them are making their Paper Mill Playhouse debuts. The company members master the spirit of their characters as they perform resonant musical numbers.
Paper Mill Playhouse’s Creative Team has done a fantastic job of bringing Rent to the Millburn stage. The Team includes scenic design by Chika Shimizu; costume design by Rodrigo Muñoz; lighting design by Cha See; sound design by Matt Kraus; projection design by Nicholas Hussong and Jamie Godwin; and fight and intimacy direction by Alex Might.
Rent. Through July 2 at the Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ). www.papermill.org
Photos: Jeremy Daniel and Evan Zimmerman
Cover photo: Jordan Barrow, Matt Rodin, Zachary Noah Piser, Leana Rae Concepcion (photo: Jeremy Daniel)
